Pages

Thursday, September 8, 2016

New eLearning modules help Calgarians ReTree YYC

As fall sets in and leaves change colour, it’s easy to see the beauty of our city’s trees. But the benefits of a healthy urban forest go far beyond aesthetics: trees clean the air, improve our health, absorb noise and increase property value.

For these reasons – and so many more – we want to keep our urban forest growing for future generations to come. In fact, The City’s goal is to increase our tree canopy from 8.23% to 20%.

Our tree canopy includes every tree in our city – from streets, parks, public spaces and backyards. And with over 50% of Calgary’s trees located on private land, we need your help. Events like the 2013 flood and the 2014 Snowtember storm damaged much of our urban forest, reducing our canopy cover. ReTree YYC has been working hard to prune and replace public trees, and support Calgarians’ efforts of caring for trees in their yards.

Now we’ve launched new eLearning modules to further support citizens in growing our urban forest. We want to give Calgarians the tools to plant new trees and care for the ones we already have. They’re free, and available 24/7 to do at your own pace.

The first module “Right Tree, Right Location” focuses on:

The types of trees that work for you.

Where to plant safely in your yard.

Step by step instructions for planting a tree.

How to care for your tree after it’s been planted.

Did you know: Early fall is a great time to plant, as the tree is focused on root growth, instead of new leaves – and trees are often less expensive to purchase at the end of the growing season.